16 Sep, 2012
17 Sep, 2012
BROWNS AT BENGALS
Browns: QB Thaddeus Lewis, WR Jordan Norwood, RB Brandon Jackson, FS Ray Ventrone, LB James-Michael Johnson, OT Oniel Cousins and LB Tank Carder.
Bengals: CB Jason Allen, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, RB Bernard Scott, TE Donald Lee, WR Ryan Whalen, TE Richard Quinn and DE Carlos Dunlap. Robert Geathers will start for Dunlap.
RAVENS AT EAGLES
Ravens: LB Paul Kruger, WR LaQuan Williams, TE Billy Bajema, OT Jah Reid, CB Asa Jackson, DL Bryan Hall and DT DeAngelo Tyson.
Eagles: QB Trent Edwards, T Dennis Kelly, CB Curtis Marsh, RB Dion Lewis, DE Vinny Curry, OL Nate Menkin and WR Riley Cooper. That means injured WRs DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin will play.
16 Sep, 2012
Burfict will start at outside linebacker for Thomas Howard, who tore his ACL last week and is out for the season. This is a surprise when you consider how his stock fell this spring. But this lineup move was expected because Burfict told reporters Friday that he would start.
He fell from a potential first-round pick to an undrafted rookie free agent after he gained weight, demonstrated an attitude and flopped at the NFL scouting combine.
Since he joined the Bengals, Burfict shed weight and made several plays in the preseason and training camp. The coaches have been impressed with his football instincts.
When I spoke to coach Marvin Lewis in mid-August, he projected Burfict to be a future starter in the league. It has just happened sooner than expected.
16 Sep, 2012
That means the Ravens will be without Kruger and Terrell Suggs, the two projected starting outside linebackers for this season. Suggs tore his Achilles this spring and is out indefinitely.
Courtney Upshaw, the team's top pick in the 2012 draft, is expected to replace Kruger. Upshaw was considered the front-runner to replace Suggs after he was taken in the second round, but he was beaten out by Albert McClellan for that spot. Sergio Kindle, who is active, could also be a factor as a pass rusher.
16 Sep, 2012
Talks on a long-term deal between the Ravens and Flacco have been shelved after a deal was close to being finalized in early August, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
This latest development has no impact on Flacco's future with the Ravens, or at least over the next couple of seasons. Flacco will be the Ravens' starter in 2013 and 2014, whether it's with a long-term deal or the franchise tag. Baltimore can keep Flacco from becoming a free agent by using the tag, which should be around $15 million next year and $18 million the year after that.
Sources told Schefter that if the two sides were to resume contract discussions now, they would have to start over.
The pressure is really on the Ravens because Flacco knows he is going to get his money. Paying Flacco $15 million would force other decisions because Baltimore has less than $15 million in salary-cap room in 2013. But it's easier to cut or restructure players than it is to find another quarterback. So, the Ravens will do whatever it takes to create room to keep Flacco.
When it comes to agreeing on a long-term deal, the difficulty is trying to agree on the correct value with Flacco. There's a large gap between the top tier quarterbacks -- Ben Roethlisberger (eight years, $102 million) and Eli Manning (seven years, $106.9 million) -- and the middle-tier ones like Ryan Fitzpatrick (six years, $59 million with $24 million guaranteed). My stance remains that Flacco will sign a contract that averages out to between $13 million and $14 million per season and includes between $30 million and $35 million guaranteed.
Flacco has repeatedly said that the lack of a new deal won't be a distraction for him. Judging by his season-opening performance against the Bengals, it looks like it has served as motivation for him.
16 Sep, 2012
16 Sep, 2012
16 Sep, 2012
0 -- Interceptions by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in 46 career passes against the Browns.
2 -- Combined completions by Dalton and Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden on throws of at least 15 yards downfield in Week 1.
4 -- Drives of 10 or more plays by Pittsburgh in Week 1, which led the NFL.
5 -- Takeaways by the Browns defense in the season opener, its most since 2010.
5 -- Bengals' wins in the nine home openers under coach Marvin Lewis (they play the Browns at Paul Brown Stadium today).
6 -- Victories by the Ravens in their past seven games against NFC opponents (they face the Eagles today).
8 -- Career games with two rushing touchdowns for the Ravens' Ray Rice, who scored twice in the season opener.
9 -- Consecutive home openers won by the Steelers (they play host to the Jets today)
10 -- Consecutive losses by the Browns in the AFC North
14 -- Team-leading tackles by Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in the season opener to go along with a sack and a forced fumble.
18.1 -- Average yards per catch for Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi (14 catches for 253 yards) against the Bengals.
20 -- Games in which Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked at least five times (it happened last week in Denver).
24 -- Yards after contact by Jonathan Dwyer in the season opener (the rest of the Steelers' running backs had 21 yards after contact).
25 -- Rushing touchdowns by BenJarvus Green-Ellis since the start of the 2010 season (ranks behind Arian Foster and Adrian Peterson).
60 -- Rushing yards by Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin (35) and quarterback Brandon Weeden (25) last week.
16 Sep, 2012
According to a tweet by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac, Harrison isn't expected to play until after the team's Week 4 bye. Under that timetable, Harrison would be back for the Oct. 7 game against the Eagles.
Harrison is officially listed as questionable for today's game even though he didn't practice all week.
In his previous five seasons, Harrison has only missed five games because of injury. If this report is correct, Harrison would be sidelined for the first three games of the 2012 season.
Harrison, 34, had arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 15 even though the injury had sidelined him during offseason workouts in the spring. Since the 2007 season, the Steelers are 5-2 without Harrison.
Last season, when Harrison missed five games (four due to injury and one because of a suspension), linebacker LaMarr Woodley picked up the slack in Harrison's absence with 7.5 sacks.
16 Sep, 2012
